Brazil

March-June 2004

I am so excited to tell you.......

            I have returned from a trip to Brazil. !!!!!!!!  The people there invited me to come visit with them.  I find that amazing.  So I went.  I got through the Sao Paulo  airport, all by myself.  I am surprised at me !!!!!!!  We had a five day conference.  They asked me to teach four times !!!!!!  I taught the comparison of the Jewish feasts.  I did better than I did in Harrisburg last September.  I had a marvelous trip.  I have been asked to return next year.

             The people there have asked me to invite all of you to come and visit with them during their conference next year.  That will be in February.  The exact dates are not yet available.  I think that is just super.  Let me know if you are interested; I will send you some particulars.

             These are El Elyon people.  They loved David very much.  They are seeking other El Elyon people.  They are excellent Bible students.  They have translated several of David’s books into Portuguese.  I had to have a translator.  But most of the young people speak English.  And several of the business people, also.  I believe they/God has enlarged my heart, that is, my capacity to love.  Isn’t that grand?

             I don't need any shots to go where I stay in Brazil.  I do need a passport, and a visa.  I left my house at 10:00 am, and flew to Atlanta.  From Atlanta, it is a 14 hour flight to Sao Paulo.  Overnight.  Very tiring, my feet swelled badly.  There we transferred to a flight to Recife.  Four more hours to get there.  They met me in Recife.  We went by car four hours inland, to Garanhuns.  The people rent a community that is like a college.  With dorms, a kitchen and dining hall, and the kitchen staff.  And the class rooms, and every thing else.  Every body has a private sleeping room, with a bath.  The bed rooms all have 5 beds in them.  Some people stack the beds they are not using.  The beds are small, not short, but more like a cot.  We all eat together in the dining hall.  My mother taught me to make friends with the cook.  So after we eat, I always go into the kitchen, and say “thank you, delicioso !”  Two meetings a day.  The college is in town, so we can walk to a grocery, and a few other things. 

            The country side reminds me of northern California.  Productive farm fields.  The birds are beautiful.  Some very small birds that are bright green.  Some small, wild animals that are strange to me. 

            The food definitely is not Mexican.  It is not spicy.  I think things are well cooked. We have mostly beef and chicken.  Always rice and beans.  And a vegetable salad, and also cooked vegetables.  For desert usually a pudding.  I love the coffee.  Very strong.  They put quite a bit of sugar in the pot while cooking, and serve in tiny little cups.  We always have many fruit juices to drink. Often fruit that I‘m not familiar with.  And bottled water is easily available. 

            The people love to wear jeans or shorts, and American tee shirts.  Some times the ladies wear slip dresses.  No man wears a suit.  The people there come from long distances.  By plane, bus, and car. 

            The houses I have been in, all have ceramic tile floors.  So the dishes are made of steel.  They make them very pretty.  They have two kitchens.  One that that is separated from the rest of the house, so they do the long cooking in the outer kitchen.  Really neat.  They have beautiful gardens and green grass.  And a huge solid wall around their houses.  Every body has a wall.  Paulo has four coconut trees in his front yard.  He keeps a ladder there, so when he wants a coconut, he climbs the ladder.  And with a very long knife cuts down some coconuts which every body loves.  He loves to do this when company is there.  They drink the juice.  And throw the coconut away. 

            Paulo is an orthodontist.  His wife, Rejane, is a school teacher.  They have three children.  Matteo, eight years, Paula, six years, and Joshua, three years.  They  are a beautiful family.  They live in Garanhuns. 

            Luiz works for the state and is in charge of transportation, and communication, for all of his state.  His wife, Sandra, is a dentist.  They have two handsome sons in college Hoseas and two Luiz Jr.  And two gorgeous teen girls, Pollyanna and Lucianna.  They are a beautiful family, also.  They come from Salvador. 

            Claudio was our original contact.  He sells printing machines, and all office equipment.  His wife Marilena, is a translator for a missionary service.  He has four daughters.  They are grown, and also very beautiful.  Cynthia is a medical doctor.  For a while she was in the military.  She flew with the Brazilian air force. She flew with the equivalent of the blue angels.  Pricilla is a school teacher specializing in music.  She travels to many different schools.  Vania and Larissa are still in college.  They live in Campinas. 

            Dijalma and his wife, Valleraria, work together.  They make and sell perfume, and lotions.  They have two girls.  They are really cute.  They come from Sao Paulo.  Dijalma is the music minister. 

            Every body is beautiful, and smart.  Many small children. 

            There are no screens.  The bugs come in, and out.  Each window has a system of glass, and shutter.  Everybody has a big TV.  In Paulo’s house the children all have a separate bed room with their own bath.  The master bedroom has a big round hot tub in the bath.  Nobody has a dryer for the laundry. 

            In most of the houses, and certainly the hotels, there is a sink in the dining room to wash your hands before you sit down. 

            While we were Recife, they took us to an old mission.  That is sort of a museum, now.  We saw some wonderful large paintings.  Painted by a man who can’t read or write.  So his signature is a big white cat.  The cat is in all of his paintings. Sometimes he is sleeping in the corner, all rolled up, the way cats do.  He is sitting under the table at the last supper, licking his paw.  Unique.  The mission has gorgeous windows and light fixtures.  I enjoyed visiting there. 

            We swam in the ocean at Recife.  Great beach. 

            On the big highways, when you come into a town they want you to slow down.  So they put tall speed bumps in the highway.  Claudio broke his muffler on one.  So now he slows down. 

            When we were in Posses de Caldas, they took us to a public garden, where there were big beautiful  blue butterflies.  Bright blue.  So many of them.  Just all over.  That was a great thing to see. 

            It wouldn’t be fair to not speak of the money situation.  The inflation is very high.  They can’t keep up with marking the prices on the stuff, in the stores.  So they mark the items with a letter and a card on the table that corresponds with the letter.  Then each day they change the card.  They really prefer you use a credit card.  Then they get their money right away.  If you use a check it takes nearly a week to get their money, and they have lost too much in that time. 

            In Recife, they took me to a shopping center sort of like a flea market.  It has been made out of an old jail.  Each small cell is a different store.  That was fun.  Three stories high with a central court that goes all the way to the top. 

            Their malls in the big towns are very much like ours.  I have trouble buying gifts for my children, as they sell all the same stuff I get here.  Barbies, super heroes, legos, and all.

Betty